• (British) IPA: /əˈsæsɪn/

assassin (plural assassins)

1. (historical) A member of a Muslim group who employed assassination of key enemy figures as their tactic.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 29, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes, […], book II, printed at London: By Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821 ↗:

     The Assassines, a nation depending of Phœnicia, are esteemed among the Mahometists of a soveraigne devotion and puritie of maners; they hold, that the readiest and shortest way to gaine Paradise, is to kill some one of a contrary religion […].

   (by extension, historical) A member of the Nizari Ismaili sect of Islam

2. Someone who intentionally kills a person, especially a professional who kills a public or political figure.
3. Any ruthless killer.

• See also Thesaurus:killer

• French: assassin
• German: Assassine
• Italian: assassino
• Portuguese: assassino
• Russian: ассаси́н

• French: assassin
• German: Attentäter, Attentäterin, Mörder, Mörderin
• Italian: assassino, assassina
• Portuguese: assassino, assassina
• Russian: уби́йца
• Spanish: asesino, asesina

• French: assassin
• German: Meuchelmörder, Meuchelmörderin, Mörder, Mörderin
• Italian: assassino, assassina
• Portuguese: assassino, assassina
• Russian: уби́йца
• Spanish: asesino, asesina

assassin (assassins, present participle assassining; past and past participle assassined)

1. (nonstandard) To assassinate.